Larry's log:
It was slow goin' this morning! It wasn't necessarily that it was so early. I think it was just the cumulative effect of the miles. The first 30 miles was pretty much a climb as well. We backtracked about nine miles, somewhat uphill and turned onto US 287 south. That highway goes through Fort Worth, Texas! At Mile 23 we crossed Beaver Creek and then began the nine mile climb up to Beaver Divide. The last three miles were a 6% grade. After that, it was through Jeffrey City to lunch at Muddy Gap Jct. The wind from the top of the climb to lunch was about a 15 mph headwind or sidewind depending upon which way the road curved. For part of the time I rode with some other riders, and we all took turns sheltering each other from the wind. Lunch was good. I had couscous and three plates of spaghetti. Lunch was also good because we changed our course from southeast to northeast and now had the wind behind us. The next rest stop was only 18 miles down the road, and I don't think it even took 45 minutes to get there. A few people remarked how we deserved that tailwind after what we had fought this morning. I could agree. However, we've had nine days of generally favorable winds. So is half a day of unfavorable wind that big a deal? Maybe the tailwinds have turned us into wimps! This morning started out quite a bit warmer, about 64 degrees. There were some mountains with snow visible to the east for a while, as we headed out. After Beaver Divide, the terrain changed more to gently rolling, with the surrounding terrain more of what I would call mounds than hills. After the 104 mile reststop (the one that took only 45 minutes to get to after lunch), there was another gradual climb for five or six miles. This is also ranch country. We rode alongside the Pathfinder Ranch, which was easily ten miles long. Then a descent to beautiful Alcova Lake, which is formed by damming the North Platte River The lake was surrounded by a red canyon and made for quite a nice setting. As the descent started, you could see a small portion of the lake peeking out from the base of the canyon. As the descent progressed, the entire picture came into view. After the canyon there were some interesting hills that appeared to be formed by piles of rocks. At about Mile 140, we hit Wyoming's favorite summertime activity: road construction! This time, there was a one or two mile stretch that was down to one lane, since they were paving one side. They had a lead vehicle leading the cars through, one direction at a time. Since we had a good tailwind, I was able to keep up with the traffic at about 25 mph! After those two miles, the rest of the road into Casper was great. It had probably just been paved within the last couple of days and was silky smooth. There were lots of roadside signs announcing wildlife. Unfortunately, I never saw any. But other riders said they did see some elk and deer. Casper appears to be a nice, well kept city of 46,000. It is much larger than its population would lead one to expect. Coming in, I saw a billboard for a Ranch Outfitters store that is nine stories high. They have stores in Casper and Billings, MT. The major industries appear to be oil and serving the ranching industry. We also crossed another major milestone today by crossing I-25. We crossed I-5 in Portland and I-15 in Boise. Near the end in South Carolina, we will cross I-95. Dinner was at Hometown Buffet, in a mall close to the motel. Yum. It's a neat mall, too. Most large cities seem to have the same stores no matter where you go. Most of the stores in this mall were ones I had never heard of before.
--Larry Schwartz
5 am breakfast is too early. But we survived and got going around 535 am. Just before the sun came up. The sunrise was great, especially off the lakes and the mountains. The first half of the day was a challenge, with 3000 feet of climbing and a stiff headwind. Funny, not a single rider tried to draft us. I guess we were going too slow up the hill. The lunch stop was a welcome break for us. And finally some good tailwind. We flew to the next rest stop but after that, we began another climb. It was sure nice to reach the signal towers at the top!! The scenery along the road side was nice, with rocky mountains and plenty of ranches. Even saw a few pronghorn. There was a nice decent for a little bit prior to Casper. The views on the way down of the rock and lakes were awesome. The last rest stop at 135 miles was a real oasis and we refreshed ourselves prior to our climb into the suburbs of Casper. We climbed only slightly and then had a great overview of the area. We biked through the metropolitan area and made our way to Evansville and the Shilo Inn. Only 157 miles but 4250 feet of climbing. The post ride hot tub was a treat as usual, and dinner was an all you can eat event at the Hometown buffet. Now it is bed time. We must get ourselves well rested for the 150 miles and 3100 feet of climbing tomorrow. But we should have a nice tailwind. We shall see.
Judith Jolly (and Daniel Schaaf)